mccormally will offer advice to those preparing their 2012 taxes and how they could be effected if taxes go up in 2013. host: flags all around washington, d.c. are at half staff this morning like the one you are feeling on the capital. good morning and welcome to "washington journal." for the first hour we will be talking about the aftermath of the shooting of in newtown, conn that happened yesterday. we will talk about the actions of the teachers. we will get into discussion about gun-control. that always seems to come up after situations like this. we would like for you to get involved in the conversation. the numbers are on the screen.

we want to hear from teachers and people who work in the classrooms, principals and vice principals, people connected with education to find your thoughts on what happened yesterday. the actions of the teachers. how safe are in america's schools and america's schoolchildren. this is how the story is being played this morning on the front page of the "new york daily news."

this is the way it is being reported this morning in "the wall street journal." the president talked about the shootings at the elementary school calling it a hate crime and vowing to press for meaningful actions to prevent more incidents.

our first call for the morning comes from new york on the line for independence. a teacher. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i was a substitute teacher actually up an east strasbourg it. i can tell you that the respect and all of that that was a round what i was going to school is completely gone. i could not believe some of the things i got to see, and i was in middle school. these are still young the kids, 13 and 14 and 15 year olds. there is just no respect.

i do not know whether it comes from the home or what. these kids are totally unmotivated in school. they have no respect for the teachers, no respect for authority. you know, it is the whole country and the whole world. we live a in a sec, evil, and perverted society and nobody wants to face it or admit it. it has gotten out of control. it is like all of the other civilizations going back thousands of years that started off fine and as time went on the snowballed out of control. that is the spot we are and just like julius caesar's rome or napoleon's france, alexander the great mesopotamia. it is a progressive thing every society seems to go through. it goes from civilize to being uncivilized.

host: beyond the disrespect you feel that you got as a kid to -- from the kids, what did you think about the security at the school? did you feel safe from perhaps an attack from the outside? caller: they had the doors locked. you had to ring a bell before you came in. if anybody wants to get into one of the schools and they come in with weapons, these military type equipment, there is no door that will stop them anyway. they can shoot the locks right off the door and they will be into the school within seconds. once somebody is going to do something like that that has their mind set on it, to stop it is next to impossible. there is no way of forcing it. i wish there was, but it is like terrorism. when somebody wants to create an

act of terrorism, there is basically no way of stopping them. host: we will move on to joy in california. caller: good morning first. i would like to send out my condolences to all of the children and loved ones that were hurt. second, there was a story a while back where a mother had an 18-month old baby at home and her husband went to work and she was on the phone with 911. she asked the 911 person, can i shoot the guy coming through my door? the 911 operator said, you have the right to protect yourself in your home. i believe a in the second

amendment. we do have a right to protect ourselves. host: do you have kids? caller: yes, i have one doctor. my first passed away. -- one daughter. host: daughter is in what grade? caller: she is 28 years old. >> would you feel comfortable with your doctor was an elementary school or high school, would you feel comfortable with teachers or administrators walking a round with firearms? caller: yes, i would it. i have a two grand children. one is going to an elementary school down the street. i would want to the

administrators, the principal, or is security type company armed. i would not mind that at all. host: gilbert from oklahoma is a retired educator. caller: good morning. this is a sad day to see. i cannot possibly imagine what those parents are going through , what to those teeny tiny little children. host: give me your experience as an educator. how do you feel the teachers and the administrators responded yesterday? caller: they did a great job of trying to protect the children. you cannot protect the children from the outside world. many of the children bring into the schools what they have observed and witnessed on the outside. jesse ventura said it first. he said we have been at war in

this country since 1945. conflict resolution, we cannot get it going because we look at the adults in the system. when anything happens, go shoot them. that is our government. that is our military. look at the military bases. our children see it. the one who is the biggest one, i have more power than you. the bullying going on a in school is the same thing the witness on the outside. there is no sense of sitting down and working out a situation. conflict resolution is not working for adults, let alone children. host: next is nicole in baltimore, maryland. tell us about -- go-ahead it. what grade do you teach? caller: i taught kindergarten,

prek, first and second. now i teach teachers to teach in public urban schools. host: tell me about your first reaction when you heard about this and what went through your mind. do you have kids? caller: know, and my partner and i we talked religiously about kids and whether we will have them or not. it is definitely a terrible, terrible thing that happened. i actually coach teachers in training. i was sitting with one of my kochis' at the time when my partner call me to tell me what was going on. it was devastating. host: you coach teachers on how to deal with the situation? caller:no, i coach them on how to be a better teacher. talk about community engagement

every time i sit down and coach them. i actually am not planning boot camp next week. we have a person coming in specifically to talk about family and parent engagement. i think we are at a. in history where we have to make a decision as humans. -- a point of history or we have to make a decision as humans. are we the same or different? we have to carry about one another. we have to get to know each other. we cannot control -- we talked a lot about gun control laws. i am not sure that is the way to go. to walk around schools with guns -- i am not sure i agree with that. if the teachers -- the teachers did exactly what they were supposed to do. my heart goes out to them to the parents who do not know what to do with kids they will never see again. it is terrible.

host: that is nicole, and educator in baltimore. we want to take a look and listen to part of what the president said yesterday talking about grief and the victim's. you will notice the president got a little emotional addressing the colts' in the briefing room yesterday. -- folks. [video clip] >> i know there is not apparent that is not feel the same increase as i do. the majority that died or children. -- feel the same grief that i do. they had their entire lives ahead of them. birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own.

among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping children fulfill their dreams. our hearts are broken today. for the parents, grandparents, sisters, and brothers of these children, and for the family of the adults who were lost. the president mentioned the teachers and some of the educators that were there at the sandy hook elementary school debt helped the kids get away from the shooter and get out of the building. in "the new york times," they talk about two that went the extra mile.

we will talk a little bit more about the principle and the school psychologist who were among the six adults killed yesterday. the next call comes from catherine in florida. caller: my mom has been a teacher for over 20 years. i have a six-year old daughter and a niece and they go to the school she teaches at. when i heard the news, i thought, this could have been our little school. it is devastating and just disgusting what has happened. i think that our country needs to take a look at what we can do as far as security at these schools. i think something needs to be mandated to protect the children. we cannot continue to let this

go on. host: talk to me about the security measures that they have at the school where your kids go to school. caller: there is a fence around the playground around the sides of the school. everything stays locked during the day. you have to go through the front office to get into the school. sometimes the gates are opened. i go sometimes to see my mom. you are supposed to check and it through the front. there is an officer there, but i do not know if he is there all the time. i am not sure about the security. even if you have one officer and even if you have the whole school blocked off, there has to be another solution. if you have a gun and ready to shoot coming to the school, all he has to do is catch the officer off guard. nobody will anticipate that happening. we have to think about taking measures and precautions.

everybody needs to put their heads together and come up with something that can be mandated for the schools throughout our country. i have a couple of other points to make. my father is retired military. i think some people and their comments and opinions about the situation are blaming the areas that should not be blamed, saying the military has something to do with it. you know, that is crazy. if anything, i think there is a big focus right now on a video games and the shooting on video games. i think maybe we need to do a better interview process as far as hiring the and it may be looking at interviewing in the schools, mental-health.

i am not sure how it can be done, but i think these are things we need to look at. host: ok. we will move on to courtney in baltimore maryland. caller: i am also a parent. i know being a parent and an educator, it comes almost as the same thing. when you educate, you look at the kids as your own. you look at them like, you come every day, you expect them in school every day. you make sure they are learning and they are accepting what they are teaching. when you have a tragedy as bad as connecticut, the teachers on top of the parents have also lost a child. i had two teachers in elementary schools. the security there is as much as the security is going to get in the school. when you look at schools and

said, this is the safest place to be. for it to happen in an elementary school, the first school you enter as a child, that is devastating. when you see the parents crying and upset, you have to rush back to your child's school because there has been this devastating event happened. host: you are an educator in baltimore and we are showing the front page of "the baltimore sun." talk to us about the security of your school. what does a person have to do to get into the school during the school day? caller: you have to be bused in, you go to the office to get a pass. the office personnel are not equipped to handle a gunman coming through the door. even if you take the precaution

of having the doors locked and going through the office first, there is no security in the office. there is no security guard. you just sign in and say what class the child is an. there is no security. you cannot say, i know if my child is in danger that they are secure. the security is only to make sure we know who is in the building. there have been times when we have gotten messages saying, there was a shooting around the school. they had to lock these cool down. that is devastating as well. host: we are going to move on to robert in maryland. caller: i am a surviving parent of a child that was murdered at five years old.

i know these people do not know the mental health and they will be living in -- you will never get over it. there are facts i want to make available on this program. i hope you will let me read them. more mass murders are committed in the united states than the rest of the world combined. more people are incarcerated in the american complex than anywhere else on planet earth. 94% of a legal and illegal drugs are consumed in the united states. more people are treated for mental illness than anywhere else in the world. host: if you would please, tell us about the situation and how your child was murdered. caller: my daughter was a 5- year-old interracial child. she was murdered by a racist. host: did this take place at

school? caller: it took place in kansas. the results are the same. parents never get over it. i just wanted to say this. the republican party always finds itself -- host: richard, go ahead. caller: i have had 30 years' experience of administrator and special educator. i think every time it comes up, we talk about the gun laws and other factors. the bottom line is, do you know who is responsible for this stuff? who has been cutting the mental health budgets over the last 10, 20 years. it started back with ronald reagan and moved on through. less and less money has gone up through to help people. there are people out there that

are in terrible condition and terrible need of health and there are no funds. the medications used benefits the drug company but not the individuals. mental health in texas has gone down. we are 50th in the nation. there are people dying because they're not getting proper medication. we wonder why they end up killing our children or hurting us. host: you were an educator in texas. did you feel safe in the schools? caller: at times, yes. at times, no. please do not redirect me. the bottom line is it is not safe and schools, it is getting the proper programs for the mentally ill. we have no funds. the republican party -- i voted republican before -- has cut the funds for mental health. it is horrible.

host: we will move on to harold in arizona. caller: i want to compliment you on an excellent program. it is coming late after columbine. there should have been a national task force to deal with this problem because it is a many faceted problem. those back to the criminal laws. it goes back to the failure to deal with mental diseases when they are picked up in the social systems. it goes back to the lack of security in schools. we have the -- it is bigger than all of the gold we protect. we do not protect the schools. there should be no way that

somebody carrying a weapon can gain entrance into a school. if that were properly done -- a world war ii veteran. the gun situation is out of control. they should know who buys the assault weapons. this is a multifaceted problem that must be dealt with on a national level. host: this is from the wall street journal. they are talking about what the president had to say yesterday. he says, comments made friday on the need to act against of violence mirrored those he made in the aftermath of the shooting of in tucson, arizona that severely wounded gabrielle giffords and killed six.

tell me what you think what has been done by the president or congress regarding gun laws between the shooting of giffords and the shooting of those kids at sandy hook elementary school yesterday. caller: the biggest problem in the gabby giffords shooting was the police knew this person should have been evaluated in an institution. there were complaints registered that he threatened to kill people. you have a failure of law enforcement involved in this. that was the beginning of the problem with the giffords thing. to talk about putting flags at half mast and doing something about gun control, you have to go across the board and texas on every level.

the weapon level is very bad. you cannot have people buying assault weapons who do not know how to use them or are untrained and are not used for hunting. they are used to assault people and kill people. yes, this is a many faceted problem. it was only an illustration of two of the five things i measured. a failure of law enforcement to pick out somebody who was a problem, who was a threat to the neighborhood. who was a threat to himself and people surrounding him. host: we will leave it there. in "the washington post," yesterday, there was a story with the headline --

she is our guest on tomorrow's edition of "newsmakers." we wanted to show you what she had to say in light of friday's shooting. [video clip] >> like everybody, i am devastated by what happened. it is awful. i am a mom. i have two kids. it is really hard to imagine. i think we need to find out what happened and what drove this individual to this place. we have to be careful about suggesting new gun laws. we need to look at what drives a

crazy person to do these actions and make sure we are enforcing the laws that are currently on the books. host: you can see the entire interview on sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 eastern on c-span. that is the "newsmakers" program. it is also available at c- span.org. there has been some discussion this morning regarding the mental state of the shooter, identified as adam lazza. this is how it was written up in "the washington post."

his mother was one of the victim's in yesterday's killings. back to the phone, cleveland, ohio, a retired principal. caller: my point is, we actually

have metal detectors at enter our school. talking with my students, guns are too easily accessible. they could go to virginia and get a gun. even tell me they could get the guns from the police and could pay $15 for the gun. they could get a gun, pop somebody, and give the gun back. it is too easily to get the guns. my students 12 and 14 years old are in gangs. they have too easy access to get guns. everybody can get a gun. that should not be possible. about thelking background check, that is not necessary. they are not even needing it. i am talking about young students, some of my kids were not even 12 years old and they could get guns. this is not acceptable. host: when you were a principal,

were there any -- caller: i was a principal in washington, d.c. we have metal detectors were you can go up and down the kid. that did not make a difference. some of the students would leave the guns outside and put them under the hedges. it would come into the school and pick them up when they left. they had to be packing to walk through the neighborhoods. host: they were not carrying the guns of in school? caller: know because we have metal detectors. i am trying to find out what they did not have metal detectors in conn. host: you think that is necessary in a middle school -- and elementary school? caller: yes, they need them k through 12.

some of these young kids are still in gangs. they go up the line with the military status. they have gains on the streets. all ages, k through 12, you need metal detectors because the students are afraid to come through the neighborhoods and they have to be packing. they have knives, box cutters and all of that. it is dangerous going through the streets because there are so many gangs. girls have gangs. boys have gangs. it is dangerous. they use the word "packing." host: we are going to leave it there. we are going to shift gears for a second tampering in gerald, the executive director of the national education association

-- and bring it in the gerald. the first thing we want to find out is, what do parents want to know about their schools? how much information are the parents get thing about how safe their schools are? >> right now, parents are concerned about that, but most of very connected to their schools. i think what they are most concerned about is what do i do with my children this weekend? i think we should start with what is going on at enter your family this weekend with your kids are sitting there and you are sitting there and you are seeing this on tv. host: it is in all the newspapers and televisions. it is wall-to-wall on television. what are you advising parents to do?

caller: we learned a lot from the terrible columbine a situation. this is very similar. definitely with the younger children, yes, shut off the tv. put on music, watch a movie, go out and watched -- go out and do christmas shopping. do not let smaller children see this on the tv. they cannot digest the kind of information. i cannot digest it. if you saw president obama trying to talk to the nation, he cannot digest it. i am not sure children of any age can digest the information. if kids bring it up, absolutely talk about it. definitely not having the tv in front of them is a good idea. host: what about when the kids

approached the parents? by now, they have to have been exposed to some of this. when a kid comes up and says, i am scared about going to school. on sunday morning, sunday afternoon the kids are talking about, i do not want to go back to school. i am afraid of what might happen to me if i go back to school. do the parents do then? caller: that is the opportunity to listen. take for example, what have you heard so far? asked the kids until you know everything that your child knows. are they afraid because of the images they saw on tv? are they afraid of something a child left -- a child said when they left school on friday? address that particular fear. it may be -- monday morning

parents have to walk their kids into school. they have to hand their child off to a teacher. it may take it that to create that security. host: we are talking to jerald newberry. in addition to the parents -- and we are showing their website. that is where you can get some information as a parent or a teacher. there will be a lot of questions for people of in information when kids come back into school on monday. how are you advising teachers to handle this when they have to stand up in front of their students on monday morning? caller: there has been a lot of

research for what kids in crises need. with columbine we learned a lot. surprisingly, at least i learned kids are quite resilient. think of a rubber band that is new and can be stretched to the limits. we as adults are not as resilient. what kids need the most are routines. it is the routine that tells the child the adults are still a in charge of their world. what i highly advise, a routine. built into the routine, but say it is a seventh grade classroom. the kids go through six periods during the day. sake, let's spend 15 minutes talking about what you heard,

answer any questions you can answer, those that you cannot as a teacher say, and that is a great question but i do not know the answer. i will try to get it back to you by tomorrow morning. do that monday and if it is needed do it tuesday. t the routine up. teaching first. and second, third so the feel like there is an adult in charge when they are at school. host: we are talking with jerald newberry. one more question before we let you go. i do not know how much opportunity you had to talk with teachers around the country regarding the situation at the sandy hook elementary school. do most teachers feel that they are safe when they are working in schools around the country these days?

would they like to see more security, more metal detectors, more lockdowns. the school had a situation where the doors were locked. you could not get in without being buzzed in between 9:30 and when school lets out. host: let's put that in perspective. as the previous caller mentioned, we live a denture a dangerous country. we have 300,000 adults injured by guns every year. 30,000 adults a shot and killed by guns each year. 3000 young people shot and killed each year. of those 3000, less than 20 are killed in schools. for the most part, kids are safe places, albeit this incredible tragedy like what just happened, what happened in columbine and schools across the nation where a school system experiences a tragedy it gets days and weeks

of attention. so many kids are gathered in one place. we have 12, 14 kids killed every single day on the streets that it no attention through the news. we live in a dangerous nation. for the most part, teachers feel they are going to save places to care for young people every day. the issue around a metal detectors will have to be worked out school by school, community by community as leaders of the school come together around what we build off of that. the problem as noted by the previous caller is much bigger than that. i think eventually we have to take on the issue of guns. we have to figure out how to have guns for those who want them for good purposes like hunting and getting assault rifles and guns that she would hundred bullets per minute, we have to get them out of the hands of the average citizen.

host: we have been talking with jerald newberry. he is the national education assistance information network of executive director. if you 1 affirmation on how to handle the situation with your kids, you can go to www.meahim.org/blog/schoolcrisis . caller: i would just like to highlight the number of teachers who are heroes at sandy hook elementary. teachers who realize the kids were in their charge, and they took into corners and hid them under their bodies.

line up to let kids walk between teachers to get to the buses until the morning. i want to salute the teachers throughout the school who kept the remainder of the students safe. i think we would have had many other kids killed if not for the teachers. host: thank you for being on "the washington journal." our next call as we continue the conversation regarding the shooting at sandy hook elementary school comes from san antonio, texas. go ahead, you are on "the washington journal." caller: thank you for taking my call. it is said right now. i have been working with young people for about 30 years down here in the south. i spoke to a soldier that just came back from korea.

he said, i felt safer walking down the streets in korea then hear in america. this is a soldier that fought in the war. it is a shame. my point is this. with guns and in america -- we have too many guns and they cannot take the guns anywhere. will somebody please talk to the president and congress and the senate and tell them we need military soldiers in our schools. that will stop the gun thing. charlton heston should be turning over in his grave. my point is to the nation, please talk to congressmen and senators and put a military

soldier that has been through military training and in the classroom every day. they can still break the windows and come in and should up the place with metal detectors. which have soldier so our kids can go to schools and be safe in the public schools. host: thank you for the call. on facebook a couple of items. this one from todd at. . back to the phones.

william from ohio. caller: good morning. i am very saddened by what happened. i would like to offer a different perspective on this. i am almost 70 years old. i have been around guns most of my life. when i was a kid, guns were much easily of -- much more easily available than today. you could go to your local store and buy a semiautomatic rifle for $100 with no background check or anything. we used to take hunting guns to school with us and go hunting after school. our local high school had a shooting range in the basement. yet people did not go iran and killing each other like today. i believe this is our evil society, not the guns. if you look at the movies we see today and listen to the songs they are playing and listen -- watch the games they are playing, they glorify killing. i believe that is where the

problem lies. host: thank you. william in ohio. we are going to bring up via . he is there on the screen welcome to the program. caller: thank you for having me. first of all, this notion that he is trying to put forward the guns have not become morally so rigid that is simply not true. if the and one grunt was as lethal as those today, then our military would still be using them. they are not. the type of military-style foul- up -- firepower we see, folks like james holmes who had a 100

drum magazine, these are weapons of war. i do not buy into the argument that we are more evil today. i think the means we have on hand with which to wreak havoc have changed dramatically. i think we have a gun industry that even decades after the 1960's when we originally passed a gun control act remains fundamentally unregulated. host: a in the new york times this morning, this one under the headline, obama's cautious call for action. whether mr. obama would use the tragedy to fuel a new effort.

is not the time to be talking about this? caller: of course this is the time. if you could not stand up and talk about how insane our gun laws are after a classroom of kindergartners are slaughtered, it is gut check time for you. it might be time for assault said. it is not jay carney's job to stand up and make the statement. he is a press secretary that runs interference for the president. we need is leadership from president obama. we did see motion from his statement. he is a father himself. thoughts and prayers are not going to heal the wounds of these parents who will never see their children again and who

will never see them realize their potential and live the course of their national -- natural lives. there are no thoughts and prayers that are going to prevent the next mass shooting from happening, which we all know, it could happen within a matter of hours if not days. we need to do a few things and do them immediately. we have to have background checks on all gun sales. we still live a denture a country where 40% gun sales occur without a background check. that is ridiculous. most of these checks are done in a matter of minutes. there is no excuse and 2012 what we are still allowing sellers to legally sell guns with no accountability. we have to strengthen the background checks. we have seen so many instances where severely mentally ill shooters have legally stopped -- at stockpiled fire arms.

jared loughner, james homes, so many people knew they were mentally ill and a threat an hour week system allowed them to buy guns because the screening is a narrow, if not nonexistent. that is a serious problem. we have not revise those categories since 1968. we need to use for decades of research on who is a threat to public safety to get it right. the final thing i was talking about before, we must renew the ban on assault weapons. there is no legitimate reason that anybody needs a -- you might want it -- nobody needs weapons like a semi-automatic a are-15, an ak-47, or 100 drum magazines. the only some -- the only person who needs that is

preparing for war with our police or military. host: ladd everitt, in several reports of in newspaper articles, it says the guns that were used were bought legally and were registered to the alleged shooter's mother including the the 9 millimeter glock, the sixth hour, also a 9 millimeter. and the bushmaster to 23 caliber assault rifle. they were bought legally and registered to the mother. what else can be done -- if they are registered legally, what else can be done to prevent this kind of a tragedy? >> for starters, looking at the type of weaponry, we are talking about an assault rifle here. we are talking about a series of mass shootings we have seen

where high-capacity magazines are being used. if you look at a shooting like tucson where jared loughner was stopped when he went to reload, that has been an important factor in many shootings. another thing people are not aware of is how loosely we regulate the storage of firearms in homes. the issue here appears to be an authorized user getting access to firearms. this country does next to nothing to provide for safe storage of firearms in the home. very few states have any mandatory regulations concerning how you store a firearm in the home. when you buy a gun and enter this country there are almost no jurisdictions that require safety or training steps so you would know properly how to store a firearm. finally, there are few states that would have what we call it

child access prevention lot so that if an unauthorized user gains access, you would be held criminally responsible. i cannot stress this enough. we have not begun to begin to regulate that area of firearms ownership in this country. it is a free-for-all. i cannot tell you how many cases i have seen even where a child as young as two or three years old gains access to a gun and kill some themself and the parent has no accountability whatsoever. we have done nothing that after this. to make ourselves safer. host: we are talking with ladd everitt. csgv.org. thank you for being on "the washington journal." the headline --

we want to look at a couple of tweets. john writes -- back to the telephones. an administrator from wisconsin.

philip, you are on "the washington journal." caller: i heard the story as a broke yesterday. i live in a state where hunting is tourism focused. they understand their use and what that means. host: you are an administrator at the school? caller: yes. host: high school, middle school, elementary? would you be in favor of the teachers or administrators like yourself being armed or if they were like some of the callers have suggested even former military or a paid people with

guns roaming the halls of in an effort to keep the students save? caller: i do not. what would make a child feel more safe -- having their teacher leaned up against the door with a pistol in their hands or being comforted by the teacher? i think that is far more important. teachers gave us a clear example of what they can and should be doing. our teachers are hyper vigilant. they are amazing in their ability to identify people who may be a threat and who typically are not. host: your thoughts about the actions of the principal who was conducting a meeting when the gunmen barged in the yesterday? caller: i would have done the

same thing. our responsibility is to take care and protect our children and any and all cost. i think we have seen that over the past years in help parents have addressed these threats in their buildings. there is an old saying locked doors only keep out honest people. i do not think we can prevent these things from happening. we can do all that we can just like our children. we have to continue to try to find different and new ways to address this. i think she is amazing. we had a principle here that was killed years ago. only -- this is what we do. we understand it. parents count on us to be able to do that for their children. they trust us and we take that seriously.

host: thank you for being on " the washington journal." we want to bring the in larry pratt from the gun owners of america and is talking to us via phone. caller: good morning. host: tell me your thoughts about what you have seen and heard so far in the aftermath of the shooting. caller: our hearts were broken to see what had happened. it is kind of enraging. this did not have to be so bad. there could have been adults with guns in the building. i heard one of the callers say, they would have been in favor of having police officers and in the building. i suppose that certainly would help. a police officer can only be in so many places. we are talking about adults being able to protect themselves

if they have a concealed carry firearms. they do not have to be walking around alarming the children with something that is concealed. if an episode like this were to occur again in another school, the idea of the teachers should be there to comfort only, it is hard to comfort if you are being shot. the best way to come for the children and the parents is to be able to assure them that everything that could be done to protect them will be done.

if you are contemplating that, it may well be that if you get a first shot off, it will be your last. host: we are talking to the

executive director of the gun owners of america. how much training to you think it would take to properly armed a school teacher in your opinion to protect students under his or her charge? guest: training has been altered by some of the schools in the country. they are more than ready to come up to the plates and provide one day or two days or whatever it will take to provide training. the teacher should have the confidence that he will be able to use this fire arm that will quickly neutralize the threat. host: in the new york times this morning, a former special agent at the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives says the shooting was a game changer. he says, the only thing that i

personally experienced that was similar to this moment was at the oklahoma city bombing where another american killed scores of people. larry pratt, do you think the shooting yesterday was a game changer? guest: if it results in a ban on guns in schools, that will be the case. that was my opinion when i heard about this tour -- this horrific death toll. we have to get past the idea that we are saved by being disarmed. that is not a plan. host: larry pratt is the executive director of gun owners of america. thank you for being on the program this morning. back to the phones and our discussions regarding the school shooting in newtown,

connecticut. our next call comes from eunice in east pittsburgh, pennsylvania. caller: thanks for taking my call. we need more security in our schools. when it comes to guns, we have people who come into lower class neighborhoods giving our young children guns for a few dollars or no dollars whatsoever, just giving guns to our people so they can shoot one another. it does need to stop. if that can be taken care of, that would be helpful as far as our young children. that is all i have to say. i am very sorry about the loss of our young children in connecticut. host: thanks for your call.

we are going to take a break here at "washington journal." when we come back, we will be talking to juana summers about how states are bracing for the fiscal cliff. later, we will be talking to kevin mccormally and what the fiscal cliff could mean to you as a taxpayer. we will be right back. >> the white house was controversial, as most things in america work. the person who designed washington's city cemented a design for a palace. americans were not having -- designed washington city

submitted a design for a palace. americans were not permitting a palace. it was neither a house north of inspiring. it was set at the -- it would neither a house nor awe- inspiring. >> watch sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. eastern and pacific on c- span 3's american history tv. >> my inspiration was the idea that i wanted to explain how totalitarianism happens. we know the story of the cold war. we know the documents. we have seen the archives that describe the relationship between roosevelt and churchill and true man. we know the main event from our point of view.

i wanted to show from a different angle what it felt like to be one of the people who were subjected to this system and how people make choices and how they react and behave. >> more with anne applebaum on poland and to the iron curtain sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on c- span's "q & a." >> "washington journal" continues. host: juana summera is a

reporter for politico. will talk about how states are bracing for the fiscal cliff. before we get deep into this discussion, refresh for us what is sequestration, wind doesn't kick in and why does it matter? guest: all of the petition has been on congress and to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. if they are not able to reach a bipartisan accord, people will see spending cuts and tax increases after the first of the year. a lot of those impacting the defense industry. there is a january 2 and january 3 hit in date. they are quite concerned as to how it will impact their bottom line.

host: there is no way to separate the general sequestration from how it would affect the defense industry. if this happens, it is a 10% cut across the top. guest: these are across the board cuts. defense is a big chunk of this. this will affect things like headstart, social services. this is not just a defense issue. the defense industry and defense lobbyists have been the largest voices making an outcry about sequestration when you hear from capitol hill. host: an article written by one of your colleagues had the headline, defense group: sequester harm huge. sequester cuts could take effect next year and could cost the country more than 2 million jobs and $215 billion from the

nation's gdp in 2013 alone. the blow to the economy could add 1.5% to the jobless rate and take $109.40 billion in wages earned by workers. there was an examination of how sequestration would affect defense and domestic programs. if sequestration goes into effect january 1, is this going to be an immediate effect. a february 2, we will know who will be affected and how they will be affected? guest: there is a take that if this happens, we go over the so- called fiscal cliff and everything goes to a halt. our military will not run out of money after care where one. you will not see base closures. it will be -- our military will

not close and you will not see base closures that the first of the year. they look at the peril for a lot of jobs, but that will be a gradual effect. it will not be, bang, happens and here we are now. host: you wrote an article, five states have more to lose in sequestration cuts. why are these states in the cross hairs when it comes to sequestration and the defense industry? guest: we look at it from the start -- the perspective of the defense industry. all 50 states will see an impact from sequestration. not only do these states have significant defense industries that are a large part of their economy, they are going to lose a lot of stops on the domestic side and department of defense contracts. -- lose a lot of jobs on the

domestic side and the department of defense contracts. those are the factors we tried to weigh. california is on the list. it is a large state. the estimate was that something like 200,000 jobs would be lost. 200,000 jobs in california is a lot. take a state like in hampshire. the number was something like 60,000 jobs. you have to look at the proportionality and that is something that has been missed. host: we are talking with juana summers. she is a reporter with politic o. if you want to get involved in the conversation, give us a call. the number is 202-585-3881 for

republicans. you can still send us an e-mail. our first phone call comes from walter in indiana. caller: thank you for taking my call. i appreciate it. sequestration will be the best thing to happen to this country since you have the democrats and the republicans saying, i do not want to cut programs. neither side will come to the metal. it is like the doctor forcing you to get the -- new side will come to the middle. it is not about raising taxes.

it is about squandering trillions and trillions of dollars. we are broke. it will be the best thing to foresee this country, to slow down, to cut back and get it into some kind of fiscal order. if not, we will become greece in 20 years. guest: that is a great point to bring up. leaders on both sides of the aisle on capitol hill have made the point that this is not a democratic or republican issue. there is waste to be curbed. what i am hearing from republicans like jon kyl is that you have to make sure america is still able to make its commitments on the world stage. we spoke with a lot of defense- heavy representative, folks from the house armed services committee. they can see that there are cuts to be made. it is just about doing it in a responsible manner rather than

across the board cuts, which is less discriminatory than most defense advocates would like. host: we have earl in street louis on our line for democrats. go ahead, =- st. louis on our line for democrats. caller: i was just wondering about the defense industrial complex that president eisenhower made the comment about. the defense contract workers are union workers. i do not hear the republicans hollering about that. i am is retired veteran. i think it is time we cut back on defense programs. we could close all of the military posts we have overseas since world war -- since world war ii, korea and vietnam.

i like your opinion of what the republican said about these defense plants in their states with union workers. thank you. guest: thank you for your call and thank you for your service. we are drawing down with wars in iraq and afghanistan. to your point on defense contractors, we are sitting across the water from virginia. it is one of the larger states in terms of those numbers if you looked at it statistically. that is certainly an option. you are not hearing republican lawmakers, a lot about the relationship between contractors and union jobs. hopefully, it is something we will be looking to in the future. host: is there any discussion about how sequestration will affect the base closures? are there any basis on the chopping block if sequestration goes through? guest: opposed to looking at

specific base closures, i talked to certain representatives in california. they have already had budget cutting. they think their faces -- base s will be fine. one representative said, my bases be fine. think about the grocery stores and the real-estate industry and the industries that support those families. there will not be immediate base closures. that is not something we are looking at now. host: our next call comes from jesse in fairfax, virginia. caller: i work in the defense industry. if sequestration hits, we are not supposed to be hit immediately with the impact due to the mission we support. in terms of the 9-12 month outlook, what is that going to look like?

does the study take into account what contracts and what industries are going to dry up over the six, nine, 12 month timeframe? guest: this is a study out of george mason university. the argument that they have made it is -- a separate these numbers into department of defense jobs and non-defense jobs. it is looking at this from a longer-term perspective. it is not looking at what happens immediately on january 2 and january 3. it is not projecting that thd be

defense department. it includes being -- the reaper aircraft. that are liable to take a hit if sequestration goes through. jason is on our line from -- for republicans calling from seattle, washington. caller: thank you for taking my call. ms. summers, you exhibit the knowledge that is rarely seen on the "washington journal" about things of this nature. one senators set to another senator, we should just go over the -- 1 senator said to another

senator, we should just go over the cliff. i do not know if people would be happy if they paid attention to her little conference. i appreciate your knowledge of sequestration. guest: thank you so much for your call. i actually spoke to senator patty murray. she said, let's just go over the cliff and see what happens. we have been calling them the cliff jumpers. she said to me, if there is not some kind of fix -- see is optimistic there would be one -- that would be detrimental for washington and outside of the seattle area. that is a concern i am hearing from her and other representatives from the states of washington. despite the rhetoric that sometimes goes on on capitol hill, that is something she is concerned about. she recognizes how important that is.

that is what i got out of my conversation with her. host: him to the folks who write the checks in the pentagon, are they talking about going over the cvliff -- cliff as well? are they comfortable with, they go over the cliff and they come back and fix things and they will be ok? guest: if you look for months, you have defense secretary leon panetta saying this cannot happen. this would be perilous for what we do for our missions overseas. i was speaking with a veteran rep out of maryland who will not be returning next year. -- representative out of maryland who will not be returning next year. you have butting heads. i have not found anyone who says

sequestration is a great idea. that is not a conversation i am bad. a lot of people -- that is not a conversation i have had. host: back to the phones. nevada is where i -- our call comes from on our phone line for democrats. caller: i believe they should go over the cliff. we need to teach these republicans a lesson. we always give in to them no matter what. it is time to quit giving in to them. also, as far as worrying about our neighbors and what we look like on the world stage, who gives a darm about that. if you do not have -- darn about that? if you do not have money in the bank, you do not give money to

your neighbors. host: are you concerned about what will happen if they have to go to sequestration and cut 10% off of the top? caller: i am absolutely am. -- i absolutely am. when people get out race, they will cut these people down. -- when people get outraged, they will cut these people down. guest: i support the idea of having a little moxie and getting people involved with their governments. there is a concern for a lot of people about whether we will be able to meet these commitments. there are a lot of threats on the world stage. there was a lot of attention paid to north korean this week. there are concerns for can her -- for defense people on both sides of the issue. host: juana summers previously

contributed to politico's campaign reporting. she has experience writing for the kansas city star. good morning. you are on washington journal. caller: the economy is not going to fall apart on january 3. as far as sequestration, until you take all of the money out of the campaign from the defense contractors and the insurance companies, it is probably the only way they will significantly cut spending. our credit rating is not reduced again and we go into a recession, which will cost taxes to go down. can you hear me? host: we sure can. caller: we spend more than the

next 20 countries combined on defense. even robert gates said we could cut it significantly. last week, we did not hear any whining in 2006 when the republicans passed the free- trade deal with china that lost millions of jobs. you sound like you work for the defense department or something, or defense contractors. host: sorry about that. guest: you made a lot of good points. if you look at this, the defense industry has been a huge lobbyist on capitol hill. companies like lockheed martin been contributed -- contiguous to representatives. -- being contributors to representatives. i do not think anybody is arguing that there should not be cuts to defense or the pentagon. most people who serve on the house or senate armed services

committee are about getting rid of these inefficiencies. the real question is, how do you do it in a safe, responsible way as opposed to having this trigger at the first of the year of the forces and across the broad -- across the board cut that does not have any discretion. there are potential issues that could be on the chopping block. host: market is our next caller on our line for republicans. -- mark is our next caller on our line for republicans. you are on the line with juana summers. caller: i believe we can make some cuts to defense. if we cut it too much, this country will be in trouble. we are looking at what the sequestration would do. a lot of people believe we should go into it and it will

finally fix our problem. the senators and congressmaen should fix the fiscal cliff before we go into it. we are looking at furloughs for over 100,000 civilian employees. what the effect will be that that will have -- the senators and congressmen should not go home for the holidays until we fix the fiscal cliff. if they do not, we should let them lose their pay and benefits equal to those who might get furloughed. guest: he made a point that was made to me. it is disgusting what has gone on. it is embarrassing that the congress has not done more. he agreed with you that congress should not receive their pay checks until this is resolved.

when i am hearing is that a lot of us will be having a lovely christmas in washington waiting for this to get resolved. in south carolina, there is a heavy defense industry and you are trying to replace senator jim demint. lindsey graham has been a leading voice on this issue on the armed services committee. host: clear up the confusion over the announcement regarding defense programs that may be affected by sequestration. the government has to give these contractors a 60-day notice to let them know that their contract is coming to an end and that that has not gone out because no one has said for sure that they are going to sequester the spending on january 1. guest: this is something that has been confusing to smaller

contractors we have talked to. if you are one of these large defense giants and some of these bigger companies, you can handle this uncertainty better. you have multimillion-dollar contracts. if you are a smaller defense contractor, you did not know if congress will reach a bipartisan accord and get the president to stop this thing. that is a big problem when you are looking at the smaller bottom lines. that is where you see the most peril in terms of sequestration. there is confusion as to whether or not they will have contracts. particularly when you look at states that have a lot the contracts on the line. host: our next caller is on our line for democrats. you are on "washington journal" with juana summers. caller: in arizona, we have a

problem with our money situation. we have some surplus money. it all started when we agree to have a 1% sales tax and we could come out of the hle. -- the hole. i suggested this to a congressman. i would not mind 1% national sales tax to help our country. i think that is a fair sales tax because there are no loopholes. everybody will pay their fair share. i understand that obama wants to tax the wealthy. a fair tax for everybody will be a much better system. the republicans are going to argue with him about taxing the wealthy. host: i am not sure what that has to do with sequestration, but we will move on to greg in

illinois. caller: hello, is this great -- greg? hold on a minute. host: is this greg? caller: my comment is i worked in the virginia and maryland. i understand it is going to hurt. i was republican and now i am independent. the time has come that the government has to say shut it down, cut it off, and do what is right for the people. guest: thank you for your comment. it sounds like you have had a

breath of experience in this industry. -- breadth of experience in this industry. many people feel like congress has not gotten much done this year. a lot of people feel the same way you do. something has to be done to avoid sequestration to keep us from going over the so-called fiscal cliff fantasy our elected men and women who serve on capitol hill to do something to get us over this. i think we will be having a late december in congress. there is some movement that the president and john boehner moved -- meeting to get a fix in the short term to stop this from happening. host: we have a graph from the pew center talking about cuts over 10 years. discretionary defense spending would be cut by 10% in the next fiscal year under sequestration

and would bear a significant portion of reductions over the next year as well. activities such as equipment maintenance, research and development, construction and procurement are not exempt. across the top line, florida, maryland, texas, california, and virginia. gross state product decrease is $3.35 billion in florida. almost $8 billion in texas. close to $11 billion in california and $10.50 billion in virginia. guest: one thing i want to point out in that report is that they made a great point on pensions and retirement. for a lot of people, that is their bottom-line. the question is, well my retirement be all can it? will i be able to retire comfortably after my service?

that is -- the question is, will my retirement be ok? host: that to the phones, susan in washington on our line for republicans. caller: ms. summers, have been listening to utah. i appreciate your point of view. you are young -- i have been listening to your point of view. you are young. i was in the military. we had a mountain of bullets we had not shot off. everybody was told to grab a box and shoot at the targets. i said, why are you wasting all of these bullets because i was a

taxpayer before i went into the military. she said, when we do not shoot out all of these bullets, next year they will not give us as much money and they will give us less money. i did what i was told. this has been bothering me for 30 years. you said we have obligations and responsibilities to the world. excuse me. you have responsibilities to us. we are the taxpayers. we work for the money. it is our money. before you get -- give aid to any foreign country -- we are giving aid to 190 countries. host: would you be in favor of an across the board 10% cut if sequestration goes through? caller: absolutely. i would go to 20%. guest: the scenario you describe

is one of those advocates of cutting defense spending would probably agree with. the bottom line is to do it in a responsible manner. to underscore the second point you made, there is concern about the inability to give foreign aid and to make sure the american military is able to protect the country. that is the concern i am hearing from a lot of republicans on capitol hill. host: next up is alexandra in street paul -- st. paul, minnesota. caller: i agree with her. there is a lot of money that we are giving and we are not seeing anything. they are just wasting it.

on top of that, if we are going through the fiscal cliff, the job setbacks we will have to do will be tremendous. we have a lot of people like independent moms and things to do not have jobs. host: we will leave it there. guest: thank you for your call. the unemployment rate here is of concern. a lot of people suggest that of the -- suggest that an amount of pressure would come if we go over the fiscal plan. it has been a difficult economic system. our leaders and congress would be forced to some kind of bipartisan accord. hopefully, it will not get to that point. we will see what happens in the next couple of months. host: we have a tweet. can we make a contest on who cuts the most. the winning department would get a pizza party?

. a little bit more seriously, lms writes, why not cut all domestic programs and spend it all on wars, drones, international banks and groups. steve in maine on our line for independents. caller: i agree with susan a couple of calls back as far as weapons systems. the previous tweets talking about the pizza party. i would make it even bigger. i would make its government assistance for those weapons systems that are decided upon that are used. guest: thank you sarb-ox -- so much for your call. we all need a pizza party. there are a lot of inefficiencies going on.

there are a lot of areas that could be cut. there are some representatives on the hill that are in favor of doing some more of that cutting. thank you for the discussion. host: our last call for juana summers comes from lincoln, georgia on our line for republicans. caller: what is more important, our soldiers, defense of our country, or protecting our country, or our congressmen wasting money. think of all the fuel come all the stuff that is wasted. what is more important? our country to be protected or them? guest: thank you so much for your call. no one is arguing that there is waste and inefficiency in government. i not think anyone is suggesting that there could be harm to our

men and women in uniform. we are all in favor of the troops. there is concern that waste and inefficiencies are a concern and we need to keep people employed and that men and women in uniform need the tools to continue to do their jobs safely and securely. host: juana summers is a writer for politoco. -- politico. in a few moments, we will talk with kevin mccormally. during the break, get some paper and a pencil. i am sure he will have some tips you will want to write down. we will be back after this break. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national

cable satellite corp. 2012] >> stan domain, take things from maine, said on may. -- strangle me, take things from me, sit on me. >> all of us in this country were starting to see people coming out and talking about their experience of this phenomenon that so many of us had experienced in one way or another that had no words for other than adolescents, other than growing up. finally, people were starting to stand back and say, this is not

a normal part of growing up. this is not a normal rights -- rite of passage. there was a moment where there was a possibility of change. the director and i decided to start the film on of that feeling that voices were bubbling up, the best out of that feeling that voices were bubbling up, -- out of the feeling that voices were bubbling up, coming to the surface. >> find more book tv on line and look like us -- like us on facebook. >> as president obama starts his next term in office, what is the most important issue he can tackle in 2013? >> your chances to win a grand

prize of $5,000, $50,000 in total prices. for more information, go to studentcam.org. >> "washington journal" continues. >> kevin mccormally is here to tell us the best way to prepare your taxes for fiscal year 2012. what is the best way to prepare taxes if we go off of the fiscal cliff? data everybody is looking ahead to 2013 and the fiscal cliff. congress has not yet decided what the rules are for 2012. we are going to have one of the most miserable filing seasons that anybody can remember the key is the alternative minimum

tax. it was for 123 people are readily. last year, 4 million people page -- paid the amt. if congress does not do something, there will be 2 million people paying the amt. the average tax bill is $3,500. that is the problem that the men and women in congress have to solve. host: we have three weeks left in the here and there is talk about the fiscal class and talk about sequestration. is it conceivable that they will decide to let the amt go by the wayside and we will always -- all be paying this $3,500 -- we will all be paying this $3,500?

guest: we do not think so. people have to remember. tax rates are going to go up for the top two% of the people. that is the worst case scenario for -- tax rates will go up 2% -- will go up for the top 2% of people. 2/3 of the people do not take deductions. they are not involved in this discussion. one other thing that disappeared at the end of last year is the sales-tax deduction. we all get to deduct our income taxes. until a few years ago, folks who live in states that do not have an income tax did not get the deduction. congress says that was

unbearable. let them deduct their sales tax. that deduction expired in 2011. if they do not act at the end of the year, people lose that deduction. host: we are talking to kevin mccormally about preparing your taxes for 2012. we are also looking forward to 2013. if you want to get involved in the discussions, the numbers are 202-737-0001 for republicans and 202-737-0002 for democrats and 202-628-0205 four independents. what other major changes to taxpayers need to be aware of that have happened between the last time you and i talked and getting ready for the end of tax season or what we will be paying taxes on in december?

guest: because of the stalemate in capitol hill, little has changed because they have done very little. standard operating procedure for most people -- most investors should be looking at their portfolio and deciding now is the time to sell stocks and mutual funds that have declined in value. a slight variation for the top 2%. their capital gains will go up in 2013. if you have profitable stocks in mutual-fund, continue -- consider selling them and pay that tax sooner rather than later. this year, the top rate on capital gains is 15%. next year, it is likely to be 23.8% of those folks. it might make sense to pay the taxes now and by the stocks

back the same day. you can lock in the 15%. host: before we get to our callers, you want to go into some changes regarding withholding in 2012. guest: another big change that comes december 21 is the payroll tax holiday. it saves the of average american $1,000. it stays high income people $2,000 and save high income people $4,000. it disappears december 31. there is little talk about preserving it. it might go away. starting january 1, everybody's paid check will go down. the 3/3 -- everybody's paycheck will go down. we recommend everybody file another w4 with their employer.

the average american, by filing a new w4 can reduce income tax withholding by more. it goes to your employer not to the irs. host: our first call for kevin mccormally comes from an earnest in florida. go ahead. caller: i have a weird question. why do i have to pay taxes being a single person and considering everything i buy and consume is already taxed? my paycheck is? before i get it. why am i in all forms for income taxes? guest: you fill out the income tax return so you can determine if too much was taken out. 70 percent of us -- 70% of us

have too much taken out. in 1916, they decided they needed to raise money to pay for wars and government. the supreme court keeps saying it is constitutional so we are stuck with it. color -- host: ernest, much money did you take home? caller: about $50,000. guest: if your refund is only $100, i commend you for that. i do not want the people sending the irs too much money all year long. whether you are single or married does not make any difference when it comes to income taxes. we are expected to pay taxes on the income we earn. host: next is mark on our line

for republicans. caller: how much will the deficit be reduced by increasing taxes on the top two% -- top 2%? will tax preparers be required to be certified by the internal revenue service? guest: if usyou confiscated the taxes from the top 2%, it would not affect the deficit. as far as they prepare our registration, it takes effect this year. data not what anybody hanging out a shingle and charging people to prepare tax returns. there should be some competency. i think they start next year. the paris have to pass a tests to charge people -- tax preparers must pass a test to

charge people to prepare their taxes. host: next up is stanley in massachusetts on our line for independents. caller: i thank you so much for c-span. i got caught with the amt for 1990 and 1993. they waited three years so i could not file an 1040x. i made $88,000 that year as an out of state tool designer. i had $11,000 in interest on my home because i refinanced its with expensive banks. the computer keicked me -- kicked me out say i owed $11,000 for amt.

i took them to court for that. it -- it took them a year to give me an answer. guest: this is the problem we have this year. it was never intended to get the middle class. the way it works in massachusetts, you are the poster child for this. caller: i was in new york at that time. guest: new york is a high tax state, too. this is how they take away deductions. it was designed for rich people. there were people in 1968 who paid no taxes. the rich were taking too many advantages for tax breaks in the law. it is reaching down more and more into the middle class. it is expensive to solve. if they do not increase the exemption, it raises a lot of money and they have to show that

as a loss. i am sorry you got caught in 1993, but you have a lot of company. host: next is jane on our line for democrats. caller: this is the first time i have gotten through. i like your show. i do not know your name. host: what is your question or comment for kevin mccormally. caller: i want to know about social security if we go off of the cliff. guest: right now, there is no real threat to social security. it is not involved in the fiscal cliff accept the payroll tax holiday will end december 31. that is going into the money to fund social security.

next year, no more than 85% of benefits can be taxed. there is no effect right now for social security. looking forward, one thing they are talking about for solving the debt problem is increasing the age for receiving social security. they are talking about raising it to 69. they are also talking about increasing the age to qualify for medicare to 65 or 67. there will be no impact on social security benefits for people who are 55 or older. those people will be grandfathered. host: we are talking to kevin mccormally of kipling nurse. you can find their -- pof

kiplinger's. that to the phones. ken in illinois on our line for republicans. go ahead. you are on "washington journal." caller: good morning. i had to sell my mother's vacation property to satisfy medicaid's requirements for asset sales. do we have to pay a capital gains tax for a forced sale on property under those circumstances? yesterday guess. -- guest: yes. i assume it is her home and she has to pay the tax. i assume she is relatively low income. there is a zero percentage tax

rate for some people. see if you can take advantage of that. it will be capped at the 15% rate. the reason for the sale do not matter. if there is a profit on the sale of the vacation home, it will be taxed. host: a caller on our line for democrats. go ahead. caller: you answered my question with your previous answer. some have said you cannot have to pay capital gains tax unless you make over $500,000. is that true? guest: no. what you are thinking of is a sale of a personal residence. the first $500,000 of profit is tax-free. it is not taxable at all. you have to have lived in that home two of the five years

leading up to the sale. this only applies to personal residence. caller: you sent to the previous caller that you had to make over $30,000. guest: i think it is 35,000 on a single return and $40,000 on a joint return. if you are in the 25% or 33% rate, the rate is 15% of capital gains. they are talking about whether the rates should go to 23% or 28%. caller: if i had a capital gains

of $10,000 this year, will i have to pay anything? 15% or 0? guest: it depends on what you are other income is. if you are other taxable income is $30,000 and you add $10,000, the first $5,000 would be taxed at the 0% rate. it is complicated. it can save lower income people a lot of money. you need to look at it carefully when you do your return. . .

www.kiplinger.com. we are going to take this next call from arkansas. caller: you just said if you are in the top 2% and got capital gains this year, you might want to sell them and immediately buy them back. guest: of the key is how long you plan to hold onto them. you need to look at that because

this year the top rate is 15%. next year, it is likely to be 23.8%. we know starting next year there is a surcharge for medicare that applies to investment earnings over $200,000 or $250,000. obama wants to raise it on the top 2%. if you sold this year, you could lock in the 15% rate. there is no worst sale rule when it comes to gains. you could sell today -- on monday, pay the tax on the gain up until monday, buy it back on monday, and then gain from would be taxedy on

at that rate. caller: i am just an average person. i was caught because we sold some land after my father passed away i think in 2002. had to pay $15,000 which i ill could afford. it was such a shock. my understanding, and i wish i could remember the term, when they passed this bill, it did not include some than that would average out every year. it was not passed correctly to begin with. the republicans have fough tlike hell to not make any changes so

it will not hit the wealthy who have the money to buy the laws that benefit themselves and really hit sthe rest of us. something else i am going to mention, that lady from tennessee, she called in all the time and gets in. guest: let's talk about the sale of your father's property. there should not be any tax on that gain because there is the stepped up basis. when somebody dies, any appreciation while they owned the property, the tax on that is forgiven. i don't understand why there was a tax on the property. the other issue you are talking about is in, averaging. if you had a spike in in come one year, you could treat it

over three years. when they compressed the bracket, they got rid of that. i don't think that will come back into law. host: gene wants to know -- wanst to know -- guest: absolutely not. all of their income is from social security spendi. the $15,000 level, first of all, social security is going to be tax-free at that level. it is only taxable if it exceeds $25,000. no reason to file a return with anybody. host: pennsylvania is where we get our next call on the republican line. caller: good morning. how are you?

i am working with homeowners who are selling short sales. one of the key factors homeowners are always interested in is getting [indiscernible] waved until december 31. do you have any thoughts on whether that mortgage forgiveness debt act will be extended? guest: it is one of the many things beginning this year we thought would be extended. there are so many people in foreclosure. the gentleman is talking about the law has a provision concerning excused debt. on principal residences, they

would excuse the tax line to help short sales. right now, i have not heard of anybody talking about extending it. it really important thing to remember is that it does not apply if the person whose debt is cancelled has no income. it is insolvent which means their debts exceed their assets, and most banks are pretty tough

guest: it is a deductible expense. if it is her personal residence, she cannot deduct it. caller: i was calling to find out what can you deduct. what can we deduct and what is

the limit? guest: right now there is almost no limit. that is one thing they are talking about. mitt romney threw out $17,000, $25,000 as the maximum that you can deduct. primarily because right now the top 3% of taxpayers deduct 50% of the itemized deductions. putting a cap on it would be another way to hit the wealthy. the only other cap is on charitable contributions. they are a big one. they are fully deductible up to that limit. mortgage interest come up. state -- you are in florida so you do not pay state income taxes and then we think they

will revise that are right now that deduction is in limbo. investment interest. that is a deductible expense. that is what i suggest you do. search for the schedule 8 form for itemized deductions. host: we have another call from steve from massachusetts on a line for independents. caller: i am very much impressed of this fellow who is finding ways for people to reduce the amount of taxes that they pay. what is it drives home to me is that when we're talking about these fiscal cliff discussions, if the rates are simply raised, especially on the more well-to- do people, they can afford to hire smart people like this

gentleman to figure out deductions and ways that they do not have to pay those rates. it seems to me that simply increasing the rates on wealthy people and thinking that is going to raise money seems to be a false promise. i think the approach of reducing deductions will wind up generating more money. guest: i think you could be absolutely right about that. there are lots of ways that we have tax breaks. deductions are not really the biggie. the big one is exclusions, things that we get that are not taxed in the first place. employer-provided health insurance is the huge one. right now, our employers pay $20,000 for health insurance for

us and we are not taxed for that. this is the kind of thing they are looking at. if you look at the erskine bowles commission report, it is unbelievable, the revenue raisers that there in that report. it will raise a lot of money and close the deficit but you'll start seeing how they plan to raise that money been big the big one is not raising those rates on the top 2%. that is why all of the focus is on the top rates. over here on capitol hill, they are talking about other ways to raise revenue. you really have to keep your eye open. there are a lot of things to look at. host: next up is george. you are on the "washington journal." caller: i have a question.

i have a primary residence and the loan was modified. will i be taxed on that loan modification, the amount my mortgage was reduced? also, i had a rental property that i had to sell and was sold for less than what i owed on that. guest: on the first question i believe the answer is no. waive the tax until the end of this year been bent on the rental property, i believe the cancellation of debt is taxable income. the brokers have told me that almost every short sale they have been involved with, the insolvency rule applies because

the banks are not out saying give away this-if you have a big bank account some place. i believe the law on mortgage modifications was in there. caller: also, on the loan modification, it was the mortgage company went ahead and modified the loan. guest: i believe that is this is a thicklspecifically covered ine legislation. host: we have a tweet from jim who wants to know -- guest: that is not true. it might be true next year. there is a personal exemptions and itemized deduction that can phase out itemized deductions which does not apply this year. kevin mccormally is the

editorial director of kiplinger and has worked for newspapers in iowa. back to the phones, barbara from maryland is on a line for democrats. you are on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. i receive social security and pension check each month, and i don't have any taxes coming out of that. and i required to pay taxes on that money? guest: it depends on how much your total income is. if it is above $25,000, half of the benefits can be taxed. you just have to look at your total in come to see whether or not it is taxed. your private pension is going to be 100% taxable.

you have to see if you make enough -- very low income people do not have to pay taxes. the more income you may, the more likely it is you'll have to report social security benefits as taxable. never more than 85%. you have to look your entire situation. host: we have from kiplinger.com -- one of them is prepare for the new surtax. one of the biggest changes on the books for 2013.

explain that to us in english. guest: it simply means that as part of the affordable care act, they imposed this 3.8% surtax on investment income. the reason we have to say it is -- let's say your investment income is $10,000 and you make $240,000 all together. the surtax does not apply. if you make $250,000 and have $10,000 investment income, it is going to be taxed at 10%, plus the 3.8% will apply to that $10,000 in income.

fortunately, most people use computer software to do their taxes. host: this 3.8%, that money goes into paying for the affordable care -- guest: i do not believe it is a dedicated tax. host: back to the phones with kevin mccormally of "kiplinger." go ahead. caller: i was wondering what the rules are this year for deducting long term care insurance. is that going to be a line item veto on the 1040 or does that have to be included with other medicare expenses and subject to 20%? guest: it depends on whether you are an individual or a business.

they can deduct it on the 1040 as an above the line adjustment to income. if you are itemizing deductions to claim medical expenses, it goes into all of your other medical expenses and is subject to the 7.5% threshold. also, there is a limit based on your age as to how much of the long term care premiums are deductible. if you just check the instructions for the 1040 schedule 'a', it is based on how much you can deduct per month for those premiums. host: we have another tweet -- guest: well, actually he is

thinking it cannot be allowed because there is a limit of how much you can put into an ira this year. the stories i have heard, he was placing stock from some of these private placement deals he was doing at bain capital in the ira. because the stock exploded in value -- if you put in $5,000 worth of stock, if that went up by 200 times, you have your million dollars. that is my understanding of how that work. by, for example, have a very large ira. it is because -- it was a profit-sharing plan that i rolled over into the ira. a lot of people have big ira's because they rolled and employer

plan into it. host: back to the phones. texas is where we get our next call. caller: good morning. you spoke of the $500,000 exclusion. is that for a couple or a single person? guest: it is for a couple. $250,000 for a single person. caller: that surtax could enter into that? guest: only to the extent that the profit is taxable them back when they passed the 3.8%, everybody freaked out. it only applies to the amount that goes over because it is not net investment income. only if it is tax-free. host: next up, roxanne from

vermont on our line for democrats. caller: hi, kevin. you stated that if your income is under $15,000, you do not have to file a federal income tax nor a state. can you please expand on that? guest: that was at $15,000 in social security benefits. at the federal level, maybe somebody with $15,000 will have to file. a single person probably has to file at that level. the standard deduction on a drug return is $13,000, plus you have $3,800 for two exemptions. a single return, you might not have to file at all. unless you have withholding from a check, file. host: next up is jerry from virginia on a line for

independents. go ahead. caller: should i take my money out of my 401 and pay off my house before taxes go up next year? guest: first of all, not certain you will have to pay more taxes on your 401k. if you are above 200 or 250, the top tax rate could go up to 43 percent said. that is possible. i would be really careful about taking money out of a 401k because you have to pay tax on every nickel of it this year. you lose future tax-deferred growth been paying i do not think you will find very many advisers who will suggest that. you cannot make decisions solely based on tax reasons.

look at it carefully. if you think you are going to face a five. rate increase going forward, it might make sense. host: frank in florida is on a line for republicans. go ahead. caller: i have a property that has a large gian on it. is there any way to go ahead and pay the tax in 2012? there is no way i will be able to have a sale and sell it in 2012 and get it done this year, but to avoid the surtax and the capital gains rates for next year. guest: that is a tough one. if you have not put it on the market, it is going to take a while to close the sale and will be taxable in the year that the sale closes. host: we are in the season of

giving regarding charitable donations. what should taxpayers know before donating and how do they go about making sure they get credit when they pay their taxes? guest: put away your checkbook if you are planning to make a substantial donation more than a few thousand dollars. you should look to give away appreciated assets rather than cash. you have a stock that is worth $5,000 that you bought for $2,500. if you give the charity that stock, you still get to deduct $5,000. the charity still gets $5,000 when they sell it. no one ever has to pay tax on that $5,000 gain. anything else, if you have charities, you are going to get the deduction this year.

charities are really strong lobbies. host: by appreciated property is, do you also mean cars? you hear a lot of charitable organizations say the donate your car. guest: i mean stocks, mutual funds, and real-estate. the gentle man could give it away by the end of the year and get a heck of a tax deduction based on current market value. congress decided that taxpayers were ripping off the american people by claiming their cars were worth a lot more than they were actually worth. unless you give it to a charity that fixes up the car and gives it to needy people or uses the car for their charitable causes, you can still go to a guidebook,

pick a value, and set the value yourself. you could probably get a larger value by doing that. you might want to think about that. host: our next call comes from elisabeth in new orleans, louisiana. caller: good morning, gentlemen. my question is kevin mccormally stated earlier for the 2012 income tax reporting period, we would really have to watch that depending on what lawmakers do as far as the budget and the fiscal cliff. what i wanted was maybe an estimate. as an employee making $53,000 a year, federal employee, for

income tax reporting purposes, whether they passed the deal or not, what am i looking at as far as income tax reporting or what i would be facing as far as an increase in owing this year? let's say they pass a bill. guest: i think you are probably safe at the $53,000 level. it is unlikely you will get hit by the amt. other than that, for 2012, it is little things like if you are a teacher, there is a deduction for classroom supplies. that expired in 2011. the state sales tax deduction, you probably do not have to worry about in louisiana. i would think that your tax bill for 2012 will probably be very similar. what is going to hurt you is because of the delay, if you

have a refund coming, it is probably going to be delayed because the irs is going to slow everything down and then i want to go back to something we talked about earlier. if you get a refund, get a new form and fix it so you have less withheld from your checks and then we have a calculator online to show you how many allowances you qualify for. take a look at that calculator so you do not have to worry about delayed refunds in the future. host: we have been talking to kevin mccormally, the editorial director of kiplinger. if you want to get more information, you can go on their website. thank you for being on the program. when we come back, we are going to resume our discussion regarding friday's shooting at the sandy hook elementary school in connecticut. we will be taking your calls by

regions of the country. we also have a special line for educators and administrators. that is when we come back from the break. we will be right back. ♪ >> the white house was very controversial as most things in america were. the designer of washington's city, there was a competition and he submitted a design for a palace. it was not particularly awe- inspiring. in 1821, a european diplomat told congress it was neither a large nor awe-inspiring.

he said the building served its purpose. if it was more elegant, perhaps some president would be inclined to be its permanent resident. >> a photo credit has gathered a few of her favorite white house photos. you can watch sunday evening on 7:30 p.m. eastern on c-span3. >> my inspiration was the idea that wanted to explain how it happened. istook taylor we know the main events from our point of view. what wanted to do was show from a different angle, from the ground up what it felt like to be one of the people who were subjected to this system and how did people make choices int hat

system. one of the things that has happened is the region that we used to call eastern europe has become very differentiated. these countries no longer have much in common with one another. >> more with a pulitzer prize winner on life in soviet east germany, poland, and hungary. from her historical narrative, send a night at 8:00 on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: for the rest of the program, we are going to be talking more about the shooting yesterday in newtown, connecticut at the sandy hook elementary school. 27 victims including 20 children. we have broken down the phone numbers in terms of regions of the country.

we have a special line for educators and administrators. if you work in education, give us a call and give us some of your thoughts as to what happened yesterday at the sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. we've got hte map up there which whos connecticut, hartford the capital. newtown in the southwest corner near the new york border. we will keep putting the numbers up on your screen. we want to show you the front

page of the local newspaper. 20 children, six adults fatally shot. adam lanza was identified as the gunman. president obama addresses a grief-stricken nation. "our hearts are broken." showing a picture that has been on a lot of different newspapers. folks consoling each other outside the sandy hook sandy hookin newtown after a gunman killed 27 people, including 20 at an elementary school band and the shooter, adam lanza, was found dead inside the school. children were evacuated and taken to the fire station. it is also the lead story in this morning's edition of "the denver post." folks in the area who were

stricken by the shooting columbine high school. they had this headline. the are showing the connecticut state police leading a line of children from sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut on friday after a shooting at the school. we're going to go to the phones and take this call from nelson in massachusetts. go ahead. caller: good morning. my concern was earlier we did have a gentle man who was 70 years old and the expert was on and disagreed about how times and society itself was much more innocent. i do not think these things are going to stop occurring.

our society, our politicians, the banking system, they have now gotten to the root cause of the problem. nor do they solve the problems that common sense americans seem to have been doing. washington comes out with these think tanks. host: nelson? you are talking about common sense. what do you see as a common- sense solution for this? caller: it is basically going to be where society as a whole, including our elected officials, start making sound decisions that are best for the people, bringing back certain principles -- the republicans believe in putting got back into school or being able to solve these other problems where they are getting

to the root of it, like the banking process. there are other areas where the housing market solution -- there were real solutions and they did not apply them. we see greed and corruption throughout our entire society. host: we are going to move on to mike in nevada. you are on the "washington journal." go ahead. caller: i am wondering why people cannot identify the mental illness in some of these people who are obviously acting out in anger. they seem to, you know, show their signs a little bit here and there. people seean't normal

these things? i have adhd and then never knew it but i had people telling me you are acting out a little bit. i am wondering why can't these people be identified? host: how was your adhd identified? guest: i tend to act i protectively over the issues. they seem to escalate the thought process. host: when were you diagnosed? color coat three years ago. i am 53. throughout my whole life, i had a personality problem without really knowing it. other people would ask, do you have something wrong? why can't you calm down? i never understood what they were talking about.

host: before getting diagnosed, were you prone to violence? caller: yes, i guess i could say i was because i would punch walls and act out in violence with fights. three people at the time which resulted in facial reconstruction. mine. it was just the idea that who is going to win? host: did you ever think about taking another's life? caller: not really. mostly my own. you have suicidal thoughts because of the frustration. health insurance was my problem throughout my life. i did not have it to go get diagnosed. i was not able to get the insurance to go.

host: thanks for your candor. robert in connecticut is our next caller. what do you do there? caller: i am a substitute teacher. host: how often do you substitute? caller: as much as they need me. recently, i have been substituting for the last two months. host: what grade? caller: 10th grade. host: talk to me about your thoughts when you heard about what happened in newtown yesterday. caller: it really disturbed me because i have grandkids who go to school. it really disturbed me how these people, these mentally ill people in our society can walk around every day and nobody notices anything until something

happens. it really disturbs me. host: did you think your grandkids going to school in waterbury, that they were saved? caller: about a couple months ago, there was a kid who talk a bb gun into school. you know, they make guns today that do not likelook like real . an officer noticed it in his back. the officer noticed it and pulled him up and took him to the principal's office. at that time he was very lucky because he could have shot the kid. host: the officer would have shot the kid? there are armed officers in the schools? caller: yes, there is.

host: thank you for your call. one of the many statements that was put out yesterday by congressman and senators, this from a representative from the fourth district in connecticut releasing this statement following the shooting, saying -- the representative joins us now by phone. welcome to the program. where were you when you first heard about the shooting in newtown?

guest: i was in washington. host: you are in the fourth district. newtown is in the fifth district. guest: the town is just across the line from my district. it is part of fairfield county just across the line from my district. host: your thoughts on the safety of the kids going to school in the fourth and fifth districts? color code that is a question on every single parents mind -- guest: that is a question on every single parents mind today. the school recently installed a security system that required an individual to be buzzed in. this individual apparently wearing camouflage and a vest and presumably being armed was

buzzed in. at the end of the day, you understand that a highly determined individual is going to gain access to whatever area that individual wants to gain access to. we are not going to turn our schools and to military bases. we need to look beyond some of the issues that people are talking about today. what the previous gentlemen mentioned, these shooters seem to have something in common which is -- we talk a lot about mental health. whether we are talking about columbine or aurora, they do not appear to be so disturbed that they were institutionalized but all of them appeared to have been alienated or isolated and perhaps angry. maybe we can do much better

toward understanding the people who we might just think of as weird or outsiders, that is something we need to take more seriously. host: part of the discussion deals with gun control. we have this item from " politico." one of your fellow representatives, a democrat of new york, the headline says -- as a democrat, would you support those moves to exert pressure on the white house for

more gun control? guest: i and a co-sponsor of a bill with caroline to restrict the use of high capacity magazines, and i do support her efforts. this is an enormously silly and ridiculous conversation we have. we are already talking about the fact that the individual who shot the children in the school yesterday were breaking all kinds of laws. the problem is quite simply we have too easy access to guns in this country. most americans believed in the second amendment but they are common-sense people who say you do not need military hardware which has no purpose other than the rapid slaughtering of human beings. this is why legislation like banning high capacity magazines

makes sense. you do not need them to go after a deer or protect your home. this is an area where unfortunately the political debate is so removed from the basic common sense of most americans who understand that if you are responsible and careful and you are not disturbed, you should be allowed to have weapons that are appropriate for things like hunting and home defense. our society is awash with weapons. different states have different laws. it is not that hard to go to virginia, by a weapon, and bring it back to connecticut and that if we do not have that discussion, it seems every two weeks we will have this incredibly this hardening outpouring of grief followed by absolutely no action. host: in the "washington post",

rodgers says --sai do you think battle lines are being drawn as to how democrats and republicans are going to respond to this? caller: is not just democrats and republicans. you have democrat people who believe there should not be any more gun-control laws. to some extent, she is right.

the laws are there. they were here in the state of connecticut. bsl rifle that was found in the car was not legal in the state -- the assault rifle that was found in the car was not legal in the state of connecticut. however, you hear in the background of that statement already the tragedy here which is let's be careful. what you do not here is an immediate call to action. as someone who lives 20 miles away from with this tragedy occurs, do not tell me how tragic this is or how devastated you are unless you are willing to follow this up next week with a serious discussion. unless youme that are willing to do something

about the weekly tragedy is that this country faces. host: do you know any people who have been affected by this tragedy customer any parents of kids who go to that school? guest: it is hard to tell. there have not been a lot of names released. it does not appear in any of the people i personally know were affected by this. .his is a small-town, an one school plays the other in baseball or cross-country. we are a pretty tight knit community up here. unfortunately, this tragedy is going to be affecting people throughout the state and the country. host: we have been talking to a a democrat representative of connecticut of the fourth district. thank you very much for being on the program.

we're going to go back to the phone calls and continue our conversation regarding the shooting in the connecticut elementary school, the sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. 27 victims including 20 children. our next call comes from maryland, and educator. go ahead. caller: good morning. first of all, my heart goes out to the family and friends of those who were affected by this violence that took place in connecticut. as an educator, i am very concerned about interventions that arshould bein place for students who show signs of some type of meltnal illness. i currently teach in that middle school. i have seen students come in with various signs or symptoms

of mental illness, but it takes so much to get the students the help they really n;eed. sometimes the behavior's escalate to a piont that by the time they escalate you are able to get help. i always questioned why does it take so much to get help for the students. host: as an educator, you see things that you think are signs that something may not be right with the student. where does the most resistance comes from? the parents, the educational process? caller: it is more the educational process from my observance. there is so much red tape. you have to gather some much data to support what you're seeing. sometimes it takes a year or

even more before you can get the student the help they really need. it's sad, you know? teachers discuss this stuff amongst themselves. it is really heartbreaking to see students suffer so long before they're able to be provided with help them than many parents who come in one help. i have seen parents cry saying my child have been doing this for so many years and then i have gone to mental health agencies and nothing is being done. host: we are looking at the front page of a newspaper which featured a picture of the president wiping away a tear as he talked about the elementary school shooting in newtown, connecticut. we want to play for you the president's radio address.

as we play that, we want to make note that the republicans can hold their response out of respect. house speaker john boehner saying the president speaks for the nation. >> more than two dozen people were killed when a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in newtown, connecticut. most of those who died were just young children with their whole lives ahead of them. every parent in america has a heart heavy with hurt. among the fallen were men and women who devoted their lives to help our children to achieve their dreams. we grieve for the families and those who survived. as blessed as they are to have their children, they know their child's innocence has been torn away far too early. we have endured far too many of these tragedies.

an elementary school in newtown, a shopping mall in oregon, a house of worship in wisconsin, a movie theater in colorado, countless street corners in places like chicago and philadelphia. any of these neighborhoods could be our own. we have to come together. will have to take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this from happening regardless of politics. this weekend, michelle and i are holding our children as close as we can and reminding them how much we love them. there are families in connecticut who cannot do that today, and they need all of us right now. all of us can extend a hand to those in need, to remind them that we're there for them, that we are praying for them, and that the love they felt for

those they lost in doors in their communities and in their country. thank you and god bless you. host: the president's we can address -- weekend address. we want to tell you about what is coming up on tomorrow's edition of " "washington journal." we begin with a roundtable discussion. there will be talking about the latest news out of the fiscal cliff negotiations. we will continue our discussion regarding the fiscal cliff negotiations with matt kibbe of freedom works. then we will wrap up the program with a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations who council on foreign relations who will